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funcroc

Posted 21 May 2011 - 04:19 AM

Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Alpha Protocol developers Obsidian, has told Play that he would happily make Alpha Protocol 2

The revelation came after Play asked how he felt about Alpha Protocol’s mixed critical reception. “That’s a hard one. I think there were things in the game we could have done better. We’ve talked about how the cover system wasn’t the best. Would it have been better with no cover system, so we could focus on other things instead? There were certain things we did really well – the whole story, the characters, the branching.

“Perhaps it was not necessarily the job we did but there was something beyond the game – how it was represented or how it was sold or what people felt we promised them. Something went off-kilter there. So there’s another lesson to learn about communication.”

When asked if he’d ever go back and revisit old IP, Urquhart admits that he would happily make a sequel to the spy game. “Of course. We’re not making Alpha Protocol 2 but I would make Alpha Protocol 2. To do a job like this, sometimes you have to be optimistic, you have to look to the future and say ‘We can do better.’ And I always believe that.”

The full interview can be found in Play Issue 205, which is on sale now and also has the first details on FIFA 12, what went on behind closed doors with Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and the first look at Dead Rising 2: Off The Record along with interviews with all those developers!

Posted 21 May 2011 - 11:03 AM

Sannom

Posted 21 May 2011 - 12:47 PM

Sannom

(10) Necromancer

Members

1562 posts

It's not a 'linear' interview, it's one of those interviews where little bits are separated into relevant topics and inserted into an article. The article is separated in three parts, first a talk mostly focused on Dungeon Siege 3, after that a talk about Obsidian's past, and the last entry is about Obsidian's future.

The DS3 preview :
- The intro is about how the journalist would be disappointed in his readers if they never heard the name 'Feargus Urquhart', reminding us of his role at Black Isle and the games made under his tenure there, and later at Obsidian.
- After that, we're reminded of Obsidian's history with external IPs, followed by a commentary that DS3 really doesn't fit with those, as it really feels like Obsidian's own project, with a vision that shares more with Obsidian's than Chris Taylor's.
- Feargus shares his view about the 'right' way to do a follow-up of another studio's game, updating game systems and gameplay while still staying respectful of what came before.
- Follows a rather long discussion about DS3 action-focused gameplay and how Obsidian introduced its best elements (story and characters) into it. "You can have a very verbose story with a lot of characters, but players will enjoy it if they feel that they're participating rather than responding.", says Feargus at the end.

The Past :
- 'Intellectualism', Feargus talks about the difficulties of launching a new IP. He says that one of the big projects they're proposing right now is a new IP and that the experience with AP has taught them how to approach that kind of project, both internally and with the publisher.
- 'Pre-Alpha Protocol', Feargus mainly says that communication has to be better thought out, because he thinks that part of AP's bad reception can be blamed on gamers misunderstanding what exactly they were going to receive.
- 'A Blast From The Past' and 'Desert Bugs' : they're the bits already put out by Now Gamer, about PST2 and FNV's bugs.

The Future :
- 'Levelling up' : Feargus doesn't share the interviewer's impression that RPGs are dying, they've been around forever and because they provide a unique kind of experience, they will always stay around.
- '+1 AK-47' : discussion about Cliff Bleszinski's quote that the future of video games was in the design of RPGs. Feargus agrees that the integration of some RPG mechanics into other games can lead to very fun results, but that RPGs themselves offer a very different kind of experience.
- 'A Memorable Future' : Feargus wonders about where the genre could be taken. Visual things are a given, but what about companions and story? How could they improve that with the new tools at their disposal.
- 'Obsidian's Dream Project' : a little list of what Feargus would like to work on. He mentions D&D as the old flame that will probably never be forgotten entirely, the world of Frank Herbert's Dune, the Wheel Of Time that apparently hasn't started production yet and mentions that he once talked with designers of how they could make a 'World War 2 epic'.

Karl the Unfettered

Posted 23 May 2011 - 01:00 PM

Decabo

Posted 23 May 2011 - 02:06 PM

Decabo

(0) Nub

Members

3 posts

Xbox Gamertag:Decabo

It seems like a no-brainer. Take the things that people liked about the first game (Story, characters, branching), and just solve the blatant technical problems/bad AI, fix some of the combat issues, and ridiculously unfair bosses, and better graphics, you'd have a pretty great game.

Alpha

Posted 23 May 2011 - 04:00 PM

Alpha

(5) Thaumaturgist

Members

589 posts

Location:Puerto Rico

Xbox Gamertag:Bad Instincts

They can't just "bring it" you need funding and preferably an established player base.

Obvious...but what can you expect about their games not getting a 2nd chance if every time they made one is unfairly criticized by haters or gamers that wish Bioware make all RPG's because is their "RPG god". That's why they don't have maybe a good fund but still they do the best they can to make it.

Inxentas

Posted 24 May 2011 - 04:29 AM

Inxentas

(1) Prestidigitator

Members

29 posts

Location:the Netherlands

Xbox Gamertag:Inxentas

I'd buy a sequel to Alpha Protocol without a doubt! Where some played "a horrible glitchfest of a game", I experienced a rough gem with some minor problems, but a very strong concept. I'm sure AP2 would get lots of reviewer attention, as people love to blindly bash on sequels to games they have bashed in the past. Still, AP1 was unique in how it handled it's branching mission structure. A game like that, but more stable and with fancier graphics, would be an absolute blast to play and get far better review scores.

Dabu

Posted 24 May 2011 - 10:47 AM

Purkake

Posted 27 May 2011 - 02:18 PM

Purkake

Arch-Mage

Members

8784 posts

They can't just "bring it" you need funding and preferably an established player base.

Obvious...but what can you expect about their games not getting a 2nd chance if every time they made one is unfairly criticized by haters or gamers that wish Bioware make all RPG's because is their "RPG god". That's why they don't have maybe a good fund but still they do the best they can to make it.